Paul Blake previews the action at Hove tonight.
Based on the Coral Dogs 515 semi-finals, Droopys By Amile looks the one to beat tonight. Nathan Hunt’s Oct20 black dog ran an impressive 30.10secs in his semi, with all sorts of drama going on behind. Quick away and showing plenty of early, Droopys By Amile soon led. With Soul Focus, in the striped jacket making a lunge for the inside, he impeded Bubbly Cherokee rendering the 11/10 favourite in the red jacket, effectively out of contention.
The other semi-final saw the ‘Ninja’ get the better of the ‘Marine’ in an epic encounter. After firing out from the gate, Marine in the black jacket, led narrowly into the first bend from Ninja Kerry on his outside in the orange. The two ran side-by-side with Marine fighting off the challenge until the run-in as Ninja Kerry pulled away to win narrowly by a head. The run of Macho Camacho was eye-catching, as he booked his place in tonight’s final for Claude Gardiner. The blue and brindled dog was slowly away but made steady progress through the race to finish only 1/2 a length behind at the finish.
The draw tonight may favour Marine, who should be able to lead on the run-up. Whether Droopys By Amile can stamp his authority on the race will rely on him clearing Trap 3, with Belinda Green’s Ninja Kerry in close attention on the outside. Behind these three, Bubbly Cherokee and Soul Focus should get a clear run, as should the slower starting Macho Camacho.
Tonight’s feature race goes off at 8:17 with £500 heading to the winner. A fantastic card of Open Races gets started at 6:09 with the first of tonight’s Coral Brighton Belle Trial Stakes.